“There are so many things in flux right now, from Facebook pulling out , potentially Google as well, the ongoing challenges of the industry — it is just really difficult to pull off a complicated merger in a very uncertain environment.“We worked really hard, and there was good will and good intent from both groups, but it is just too challenging and too uncertain an environment right now to make all the models work.
Nordstar, in a written release, said “the added backdrop of regulatory and financial uncertainty” led to the decision to end negotiations. Both companies previously announced they were stopping direct advertising on Meta-owned platforms, joining several other entities, including the federal and Quebec governments, that are boycotting Facebook and Instagram over Meta’s decision to block Canadian news.